Hip Hop Vibe's Bust of the Year: T.I.

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

After missing out on 2009's action due to his imprisonment, T.I. was supposed to dominate 2010. In March, T.I. made his first public appearance and released "I'm Back." The song was a minor hit and the summer was set to be T.I.'s summer. But, suddenly, "I'm Back" stalled and T.I. was an afterthought.

Atlantic Records no longer thought of T.I. as a top priority with buzz building around Wiz Khalifa. Without the support of his record label, the Grand Hustle CEO began his own movement. Because of his message, the people had his back. Still, he could not score a true hit single.

Even though things were not looking good for him, T.I. still kept pressing and trying to make things happen. But, in September, he officially killed his comeback attempt. During a trip to Los Angeles, he and his wife, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, were pulled over by the police. The couple was searched and caught with drugs and T.I. was sentenced to eleven months in prison.

T.I. was hauled back off immediately and he had to change the title of his album from King Uncaged. He quickly teamed up with Chris Brown to record a new lead single. Much like T.I., Chris Brown was trying to rebound from a major mistake. The two recorded the popular song, "Get Back Up," but it was not enough to help No Mercy sell the way Paper Trail did. T.I. had promised a major comeback in 2010, but he could not get his record label to cooperate and he landed himself another prison sentence.

With all of those accomplishments, T.I. is Hip Hop Vibe's Bust of the Year for 2010.